Trudeau's apologies 'not enough,' Kingston NDP candidate Walker says

Kingston and the Islands federal NDP candidate Barrington Walker, here with party leader Jagmeet Singh last weekend, says Trudeau's apologies have to be backed up with actions. (Meghan Balogh/The Whig-Standard)jpg, KI

KINGSTON – The local New Democratic Party candidate said he felt “profound disappointment” after seeing photos of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wearing blackface in 2001.

“My immediate reaction was one of profound disappointment,” said Kingston and the Islands NDP candidate Barrington Walker, who is black.

“I recognize these photos were taken ‘a long time’ ago, in the early 2000s, I believe. At the time, when the prime minister took at least one of those photos, he was also a high school teacher,” Walker added. “He was not a child, he was almost 30 years old, and he was entrusted with the responsibility of educating children. I think he set a very poor example for those children.”

Photographs and a video of Trudeau wearing the makeup were published Wednesday night and Thursday morning, drawing almost universal condemnation and throwing the federal election into turmoil.

Trudeau spent Thursday apologizing for his actions.

Walker said he wants more from Trudeau.

“What I want to see from the prime minister, in addition to the apologies that he gave this morning, is for him to substantiate some of that rhetoric with addressing questions of poverty and discrimination and ecological injustice for marginalized and Indigenous communities in Canada. That is what I want to see from the prime minister,” Walker said. “The apology and the show of contrition have to be substantiated with some real, substantive policy measures.

“The apologizes, in and of themselves, for me, are not enough.”

Walker said the scandal serves to show the difference between the Liberal party and the NDP, which he said is the true progressive party in Canada.

Walker said the NDP has always based its platforms on issues of social justice, inclusion, diversity and environmental protection.

“I think it is going to be an opportunity for progressives in this city to think about which party they want representing their values on Parliament Hill,” Walker said.

Politics aside, Walker said the events of this week will force the issue of racism, something many Canadians often shy away from discussing, into the public discourse.

“I think incidents like this give pause for us to reflect on the fact that these are still issues in our communities, that these are issues that need to be confronted and issues that we need to talk about,” he said.

“We still have a ways to go. This incident is an opportunity for us to think about how we get there.”

Kingston and the Islands Liberal candidate Mark Gerretsen also expressed disappointment with the photographs.

“It is disappointing to see,” Gerretsen said. “I know that racism is obviously still an issue in Canada. It is hurtful to see this stuff. I know there are a lot of people in our community who are hurt by it.”

But Gerretsen said the Trudeau government has shown support for equal rights, multiculturalism and combating racism in the past four years.

“I really hope that (Trudeau) learns something from this,” Gerretsen said. “I hope he has grown as a person since he made those decisions. I hope he realizes those are the wrong decisions.

“I think these were just poor decisions that he made at one point in his life.”